Best Buy: Service lets expats transfer funds to family credit cards

The UAE exchange now allows expats to transfer funds directly to famly credit cards, and is offering gifts to customers who use its services.

Transferring money home on a regular basis is one of the biggest financial responsibilities many expatriates face in the Emirates.

Unfortunately, some expats don't have the luxury of waiting for the best exchange rate and have no choice but to remit money at the end of every month because their families rely on the extra income to supplement living expenses.

There are a number of ways to transfer money home. Some people take advantage of the once-a-month free online transfer service offered by many of the country's banks, while others rely on exchange houses to send money to loved ones or for other reasons.

One convenient way to send funds home is through the Visa Money Transfer service, which is offered through the UAE Exchange network. The service, which launched in the UAE in 2009, allows UAE Exchange customers to send funds directly to recipients' Visa cards, both here and overseas.

Money can be sent from anywhere in the world and the funds are credited directly to either Visa debit, credit or pre-paid cards, which can be used at a variety of merchants, or to withdraw cash from any Visa ATM.

And, until April 15, all customers using the Visa Money Transfer service to send money abroad will be rewarded for their transactions. In a joint promotion with Visa, UAE Exchange is offering customers an Etisalat pre-paid calling card for their first transaction and a Spark MP3 player for the second transaction. A Samsung E2550 mobile phone is also on offer as part of the promotion.

"UAE Exchange has always been in the forefront in adapting the latest technology to enhance our customers' convenience in money remittance," says Y Sudhir Kumar Shetty, the company's chief operations officer.

"India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have been added to the long list of countries where Visa Money Transfer is active. The strong customer base of UAE Exchange from these key markets will further enable the promotion to gain mileage among the customers here."

With 1.7 billion accounts around the world, Visa says its goal is to make money transfers safe, convenient and reliable.

"Visa Money Transfer meets the demand for a secure and convenient way to transfer money anywhere in the world," says Sachin Bountra, Visa's business development director for the Middle East. "Customers are able to receive funds through an ATM without having to visit an agent or bank.

"Since we launched the service, we have found that more than 60 per cent of people use it again, which shows the increasing demand in the UAE for a more convenient way of transferring money both domestically and abroad."

Terms and conditions apply to the promotion.